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Post by jaydebe on Oct 17, 2018 15:51:31 GMT
I'm looking into building a modest solar system for our van. Right now, the built is mostly all Renogy - 2 100ah lithium batteries - Rover 40am CC - 3-4 100w panels or 2-3 160w panels
My question is, "What Inverter/Charger should I use? I'm thinking 2000w is what I need. It seems that some of the more popular I/Cs are the AIMS (and the Renogy/AIM (just guessing) don't have a setting for lithium batteries.
That said, from what I've seen from a Renogy graphic, there is a AGM 2 setting that looks close to a lithium setting for volts at 14.6.
Would that be used for a lithium battery?
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Post by tattoo on Oct 17, 2018 21:23:40 GMT
I'm looking into building a modest solar system for our van. Right now, the built is mostly all Renogy - 2 100ah lithium batteries - Rover 40am CC - 3-4 100w panels or 2-3 160w panels My question is, "What Inverter/Charger should I use? I'm thinking 2000w is what I need. It seems that some of the more popular I/Cs are the AIMS (and the Renogy/AIM (just guessing) don't have a setting for lithium batteries. That said, from what I've seen from a Renogy graphic, there is a AGM 2 setting that looks close to a lithium setting for volts at 14.6. Would that be used for a lithium battery? The first thing you need to ask yourself is..... What am I going to be running off of the system and how many watts will I need?
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Post by playersz28 on Oct 17, 2018 21:33:04 GMT
For use in a van the 2kw inverter should be more than enough. If you don't have a microwave then you could go smaller. I expect you'll be limited to how much solar you can fit on the roof so if you put in a real big inverter you'll never get caught up if you draw too much. The 200AH of batteries will limit how long you can run the inverter anyway.
We have a 2000w PSW and it'll run everything but the A/C as long as I only run one large load at a time (Mwave, hair dryer, coffee maker, etc) with 448AH AGM (abt the same as your Li)
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Post by tattoo on Oct 17, 2018 23:02:50 GMT
I would think that a 500w inverter would be enough for a van and it won't kill the battery just by itself..... Most people have no idea how much power an inverter takes just by itself with no load on it at all...
I have a 2000w and a 500w inverter wired in my solar system and it's very rare that I turn the 2000w on..... Only with things like a vacuum, table saw etc....
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Post by bupkis on Oct 18, 2018 0:34:23 GMT
Oct 17, 2018 10:51:31 GMT -5 jaydebe said:
My question is, "What Inverter/Charger should I use? I'm thinking 2000w is what I need.
hi jaydebe, seems a couple of the charge settings would be OK, the 1000 version has max 35A charge which should be enough. the 2000 has max 65A of charge ...
Hopefully Admin will pipe in, the battery BMS may help prevent overcharge or what settings to use for Li
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Post by jaydebe on Oct 18, 2018 1:22:56 GMT
Sorry, I forgot to mention what we plan to run in the van. The "Big draw" 120v will be us using an electric kettle most mornings for coffee, about 7-8 min to heat up at 1500w, maybe again at night for tea; A Ninja Blender 1500w @ 1-2min max. We're undecided about an induction cooktop that would likely run 15-30 min 1x a day.
Everything else is 12 and pretty much smaller constants will be 5w fan for the toilet, 2 iphones, MaxxAirFan, and a Dometic Fridge Freezer 75-90Qt.
We'll likely drive at least 1x per day and if needed, we'll run the van during cooking on rainy days that we can't use a gas grill.
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Post by jaydebe on Oct 18, 2018 1:27:21 GMT
I would think that a 500w inverter would be enough for a van and it won't kill the battery just by itself..... Most people have no idea how much power an inverter takes just by itself with no load on it at all... I have a 2000w and a 500w inverter wired in my solar system and it's very rare that I turn the 2000w on..... Only with things like a vacuum, table saw etc.... Yeah, we're trying to not use an inverter any more than we have needed. So almost everything will be on 12v but 5-6 items: Blender, Electric kettle, and maybe the occasional LED TV @55w hr. The AIMS claims 15w per hour on standby.
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Post by tattoo on Oct 18, 2018 1:34:39 GMT
Yeah, we're trying to not use an inverter any more than we have needed. So almost everything will be on 12v but 5-6 items: Blender, Electric kettle, and maybe the occasional LED TV @55w hr. The AIMS claims 15w per hour on standby. Where do you have the 12v hooked to? The CC or the battery?
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Post by tattoo on Oct 18, 2018 1:41:49 GMT
Sorry, I forgot to mention what we plan to run in the van. The "Big draw" 120v will be us using an electric kettle most mornings for coffee, about 7-8 min to heat up at 1500w, maybe again at night for tea; A Ninja Blender 1500w @ 1-2min max. We're undecided about an induction cooktop that would likely run 15-30 min 1x a day. Everything else is 12 and pretty much smaller constants will be 5w fan for the toilet, 2 iphones, MaxxAirFan, and a Dometic Fridge Freezer 75-90Qt. We'll likely drive at least 1x per day and if needed, we'll run the van during cooking on rainy days that we can't use a gas grill. I don't see how your going to run all of that off of that size system.... But the key to battery life is to see what your voltage is in your battery in the AM first thing with no load on them...
You really need to have a way to include a cooktop.....
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Post by jaydebe on Oct 18, 2018 2:50:27 GMT
I haven't built the system yet. The 12v will likely be right off of the battery. I know that the watts adds up fast! Most of what we will be doing is chasing the sun and being outside. We're hoping to be more "camping" than relying 100% on the van. That said, I'd like a system that could hold up for 2-days without running the van and little sun.
Am I doing the math wrong? 2 100AH batteries produce about 2400WH. Our big draw is 1500 @ 7min. So, that's 25 per min. or 150w used + inverter losses. Depending on the time of morning and time of year, the panels might be pulling in 0-100w, so we should be pretty neutral to a minimal loss. Similar for the blender.
Kettle: 150-170wh per day Blender: 50-75wh per day Lighting: 60wh per day max. Toilet: 60wh per day 2 iPhones: 60wh per day Dometic 75: 250-400wh per day MaxxFan: Min: 28- 800wh Max. per day (huge range) Likely 316wh per day (Level 7 of 10) Inverter Standby: 240wh High Est: 1870 watts used.
I maybe missing something, but assuming ZERO solar or any other input: We'd be using just about all 80% of the batteries up maxed out. Now, if I something happened during any given day that I'm stuck in the van this long, I'd bet that the van would be running at some point for some type to climate control and we'd likely try to locate a place with shore power if possible.
Any way, I love the input and if I'm seeing something wrong, please correct me. We are looking at this trip as an adventure, so we're willing to give up a lot to make it happen.
Some other info. is that most of the foods we eat need minimal prep. time. We will be chasing the sun, so in the - Spring / Summer: Most of the areas we'll be in show 7+ hrs of sunlight per day - Winter months we'll be in Ca, Az, and Mx with the solar calc. showing 5.5-7hrs of daylight per day. 4 panels should net us some pretty good fuel. Thinking about wiring up in the series-parallel method; using right side and left side as separate entities in case of shade spots. Our rack will also allow for the panels to pivot/tilt when sitting still.
We don't plan on being in any area without driving or some shore power for more than 2-3 days.
Our funds are limited, but our trip will be approx. 12-16 months with 2-4mo of traveling per year after. So, we're looking at Lithium batteries for size, weight and lifespan. It'll be almost impossible for us to remove and store 400AH of AGM batteries after out travels, if they are still working well since they have very limited cycles.
Any 411 is welcome.
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Post by jaydebe on Oct 18, 2018 3:04:30 GMT
I do have a question of a different sort. If I build up a 200ah system and decide to add another battery in 1-3 month, is that cool? I get that the idea is to make the system all at once to keep the batteries as balanced as possible, but Lithiums also use a individual BMS to keep them all independently running in tip top shape, so, in my mind, it shouldn't be a huge issue to add one later.
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Post by Admin on Oct 18, 2018 11:20:39 GMT
I'm looking into building a modest solar system for our van. Right now, the built is mostly all Renogy - 2 100ah lithium batteries - Rover 40am CC - 3-4 100w panels or 2-3 160w panels My question is, "What Inverter/Charger should I use? I'm thinking 2000w is what I need. It seems that some of the more popular I/Cs are the AIMS (and the Renogy/AIM (just guessing) don't have a setting for lithium batteries. That said, from what I've seen from a Renogy graphic, there is a AGM 2 setting that looks close to a lithium setting for volts at 14.6. Would that be used for a lithium battery? A 2000W inverter would be appropriate if you plan on running many appliances at the same time that would be close to this wattage. Otherwise, you can always go smaller wattage and just be conscious about your appliances usage. The LFP batteries could be used for the pure sine wave inverter, but we would not recommend the batteries be paired with the inverter charger, as you will not be able to use the charging feature to charge your LFP batteries back up through the inverter charger itself. There is currently no setting on it and you cannot customize it for LFP battery charging. The 14.6V while consistent with the Renogy LFP battery charging profile, is meant to be in a constant voltage state, by which the inverter charger's float stage would potentially damage the LFP battery. -Renogy Team
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Post by tattoo on Oct 18, 2018 12:25:22 GMT
I do have a question of a different sort. If I build up a 200ah system and decide to add another battery in 1-3 month, is that cool? I get that the idea is to make the system all at once to keep the batteries as balanced as possible, but Lithiums also use a individual BMS to keep them all independently running in tip top shape, so, in my mind, it shouldn't be a huge issue to add one later. Sure you can and should add another battery with no problems at all...
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Post by jaydebe on Oct 18, 2018 12:33:31 GMT
I'm looking into building a modest solar system for our van. Right now, the built is mostly all Renogy - 2 100ah lithium batteries - Rover 40am CC - 3-4 100w panels or 2-3 160w panels My question is, "What Inverter/Charger should I use? I'm thinking 2000w is what I need. It seems that some of the more popular I/Cs are the AIMS (and the Renogy/AIM (just guessing) don't have a setting for lithium batteries. That said, from what I've seen from a Renogy graphic, there is a AGM 2 setting that looks close to a lithium setting for volts at 14.6. Would that be used for a lithium battery? A 2000W inverter would be appropriate if you plan on running many appliances at the same time that would be close to this wattage. Otherwise, you can always go smaller wattage and just be conscious about your appliances usage. The LFP batteries could be used for the pure sine wave inverter, but we would not recommend the batteries be paired with the inverter charger, as you will not be able to use the charging feature to charge your LFP batteries back up through the inverter charger itself. There is currently no setting on it and you cannot customize it for LFP battery charging. The 14.6V while consistent with the Renogy LFP battery charging profile, is meant to be in a constant voltage state, by which the inverter charger's float stage would potentially damage the LFP battery. -Renogy Team Thank you. So, I see that Battleborn sells a LiFePO4 specific charger. Can I just add this to the system for when I'm on shore power? battlebornbatteries.com/shop/progressive-dynamics-60-amp-lifepo4-battery-charger/
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Post by tattoo on Oct 18, 2018 12:40:23 GMT
I haven't built the system yet. The 12v will likely be right off of the battery. I know that the watts adds up fast! Most of what we will be doing is chasing the sun and being outside. We're hoping to be more "camping" than relying 100% on the van. That said, I'd like a system that could hold up for 2-days without running the van and little sun. Am I doing the math wrong? 2 100AH batteries produce about 2400WH. Our big draw is 1500 @ 7min. So, that's 25 per min. or 150w used + inverter losses. Depending on the time of morning and time of year, the panels might be pulling in 0-100w, so we should be pretty neutral to a minimal loss. Similar for the blender. Kettle: 150-170wh per day Blender: 50-75wh per day Lighting: 60wh per day max. Toilet: 60wh per day 2 iPhones: 60wh per day Dometic 75: 250-400wh per day MaxxFan: Min: 28- 800wh Max. per day (huge range) Likely 316wh per day (Level 7 of 10) Inverter Standby: 240wh High Est: 1870 watts used. I maybe missing something, but assuming ZERO solar or any other input: We'd be using just about all 80% of the batteries up maxed out. Now, if I something happened during any given day that I'm stuck in the van this long, I'd bet that the van would be running at some point for some type to climate control and we'd likely try to locate a place with shore power if possible. Any way, I love the input and if I'm seeing something wrong, please correct me. We are looking at this trip as an adventure, so we're willing to give up a lot to make it happen. Some other info. is that most of the foods we eat need minimal prep. time. We will be chasing the sun, so in the - Spring / Summer: Most of the areas we'll be in show 7+ hrs of sunlight per day - Winter months we'll be in Ca, Az, and Mx with the solar calc. showing 5.5-7hrs of daylight per day. 4 panels should net us some pretty good fuel. Thinking about wiring up in the series-parallel method; using right side and left side as separate entities in case of shade spots. Our rack will also allow for the panels to pivot/tilt when sitting still. We don't plan on being in any area without driving or some shore power for more than 2-3 days. Our funds are limited, but our trip will be approx. 12-16 months with 2-4mo of traveling per year after. So, we're looking at Lithium batteries for size, weight and lifespan. It'll be almost impossible for us to remove and store 400AH of AGM batteries after out travels, if they are still working well since they have very limited cycles. Any 411 is welcome.
I personally don't think you can run all that your hoping to run off of the solar system you have described... I doubt if I could run all of that off of my system.... And it's way larger than what your considering....
Running things like a kettle is a waste of Solar power... That's what propane is for...
Plus most 12v appliances are junk and are a waste of money...
If your planning on using 80% of your batteries everyday they won't last very long.... You will never get them fully charged everyday like you should do everyday.... 50% is the max that you want to draw down a battery.... You will need 4 batteries to do what your wanting to do and then you will need more panels......
You need to stop thinking about the things that you use at home on the AC grid.... Solar won't do the same unless it's a HUGE system....
That's my nickle, But what the H do I know?
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